


Home

by eafay70



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, future lockout that I pray never happens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 17:57:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14242710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eafay70/pseuds/eafay70
Summary: Sid and Geno are separated due to an NHL lockout: Sid stays in the US to work things through with the bigwigs, while Geno goes back to Russia to play in the KHL. The happy ending finally comes.





	Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crosbymalkin871](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crosbymalkin871/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Frankenshirt](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14166537) by [crosbymalkin871](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crosbymalkin871/pseuds/crosbymalkin871). 



> If someone had told me at the beginning of this Fluff Fest that I would be gifting my final Fluff Fest fic to someone who would help me with the Angst Fest, I wouldn't have believed it. I'm forever grateful that you reached out to someone you only knew from mutuals. <3 I hope I've done your idea justice! (And I hope you enjoy the Hamilton reference!)
> 
> The final prompt of the Fluff Fest is "writer's choice." I decided to take a less common approach by having a fellow writer choose for me! ;-) This is an idea that crosbymalkin871 wanted to write for "travel" (week 9), inspired by the Michael Buble song "Home", which both of us love!

Another NHL lockout. Sid couldn't believe it.

...Well, that wasn't entirely true. The NHL bigwigs really hadn't changed much since the previous lockout, so calling this new lockout a surprise was an exaggeration.

This new one, however, felt much more personal than the previous one to Sid for one reason. And that reason was struggling not to bawl his eyes out in the car as Sid drove. "If I'm cry, eyes feel weird on plane. Won't get sleep."

"And then you'd risk falling asleep in all the lovely food your mom will have prepared," Sid added, relaxing slightly when Geno chuckled at the thought. "I'll cry enough for the both of us once I get back home."

"Home..." Geno whispered sadly as Sid entered the airport parking lot. "Not sure if I'm leaving home or going home."

"You have two homes." Sid found a space, pulled in, and turned off the car. "You're leaving this home and going to your other home - the one with better food."

"True." Geno squeezed Sid's hand tightly. "I'm keep you updated on journey, I promise. I love you so much, Sid."

"I love you, too, G," Sid replied. "I'll get this lockout ended as fast as I can so you can come back, I promise."

"I'm know you will." They kissed firmly. _"Proshchay, Sidka."_

 _"Do svidaniya, Zhenya."_ Sid laughed as Geno shook his head. "I'll work on it."

Geno smiled fondly before getting out of the car and grabbing his suitcase from the trunk. He slowly walked to the elevator and waved goodbye one last time before disappearing from view.

Sid took a deep breath and blinked a few times, then drove back to the house. He went straight to the bedroom and flopped facedown on Geno's side of the bed, inhaling the familiar scent on the hard pillow.

...Hard pillow??

Sid sat up and pulled back the covers, then lifted up the pillow to reveal a box labeled 'For Sid.' He opened it and smiled at what he saw: Geno's favorite 'frankenshirt', a large bottle of Geno's cologne, and a plushie of the Metallurg Magnitogorsk fox. With a fond sigh, he cuddled the fox to his chest and fell asleep on his side of the bed, leaving the other items on Geno's side. He fell asleep imagining how Geno would react to the similar package he'd hidden in Geno's suitcase.

_X_

It was even harder than Sid and Geno could have predicted.

They sent each other emails and even postcards to keep in touch. And they skyped and called frequently to talk about everything from hockey to family gossip. But it just wasn't enough.

Sid slept with the Metallurg Magnitogorsk fox every night, and he sprayed Geno's cologne on the frankenshirt whenever the scent started to fade. Likewise, Geno slept with the Iceburgh plushie Sid had packed for him, and he wore Sid's Team Canada shirt several times a week. But it just wasn't enough.

Sid and Geno missed each other so much it hurt. Geno channeled that heartache into incredible performances in the KHL, while Sid channeled it into negotiations to end the lockout.

It took far too long for anyone's liking, but he and the players proved triumphant. Sid and Geno spent a long time on the phone crying and cheering the news, after which Geno immediately got to work on transitioning himself and the others in the KHL back to the NHL.

Sid found himself doing a lot of press conferences and interviews in the days following the end of the lockout. He was leaving the Penguins' arena after one such press conference when his phone buzzed with an alarm that made him smile.

Someone tapped Sid on the shoulder. It was Iceburgh, his head tilted in curiousity. "I have to get to the airport," Sid explained, beaming with joy. 

The penguin fist-pumped, hugged Sid, and pointed to the door. Sid interpreted this to mean "go get your right-hand man back," so he got going.

Traffic was terrible on the way to the airport, which annoyed Sid to no end - until he got to the airport, checked the information boards, and saw that Geno's flight was delayed, meaning both of them were waiting even longer to be reunited. Sid found a chair in the waiting lounge, pulled his baseball cap as far down as possible, and focused on keeping the metaphorical hearts out of his eyes.

Finally, people began walking out of the customs area. Sid stood up and instantly spotted Geno, who smiled brightly at the sight of Sid.

Geno walked up to Sid, both of them too overwhelmed to speak. Sid wrapped his arms around Geno and hugged tightly, crying in spite of himself.

"Shh, Sidka, no more sad..." Geno whispered as he returned the hug. "Just happy to be finally home."

"I'm crying because I'm happy," Sid explained. "I got my home back."

Geno chuckled softly, a few tears escaping his own eyes. "Sidka fought for hockey and won. Now I'm home with you."

"My home's back with me." Sid nuzzled Geno's chest and swallowed back another sob. "Pittsburgh wasn't home without you. If I had gone with you to Russia, then Russia would've been home. But now we're home because we're together."

"Take me home, Sidka," Geno pleaded. "Let me show how much I'm miss."

Sid was more than happy to oblige.

A few hours later, when they were cuddling under the covers for the first time in far too long, Geno whispered, "Sidka best. That why home is wherever together."

Sid nodded in agreement. "Welcome home."

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is greatly appreciated! =]
> 
> My heartfelt thanks to everyone who read, left kudos, and/or commented during this Fluff Fest. Here's to many more!
> 
> ADDENDUM: I've now listed the fic "Frankenshirt" by crosbymalkin871 as an inspiration for this fic. <3


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